Death Ascension - Chapter 108

“Where do we go today, sir?” Deon asked Mikael as they headed out of their bedroom, “We’ve visited all the victim’s households in the capital’s vicinity and the only ones left are those in far-flung areas in the kingdom.”

“Yeah… at this rate, three weeks will pass by before we finish visitations.” Mikael scratched his chin in contemplation as he drifted around his partner, “It’s too inefficient, kid. We need to think of another way to approach this problem.”

“Do we give up on gathering information from the requests of the dead, sir?”

“Yeah. Let’s just make do with Julia Brooks’ statements.”

Creak…

Deon opened his bedroom door as he conversed with Mikael.

“Who are you talking to?”

“WHOAA!!!”

The youngest prince fell on his butt as he backed away in surprise. Standing just outside his bedroom door was his elder brother, Cail Hensworth.

Cail looked at Deon suspiciously as he effortlessly twirled his prized spear.

‘As I thought, the wimp’s getting weirder by the day…’

The second prince observed his sibling, who stared at him in fear as he lay motionless on the ground, with a bewildered expression.

Ever since the day that his younger brother came home from the hunting competition, the people around Cail had been talking about him tirelessly. Everywhere he goes, the citizens just won’t shut up. They lauded Deon and referred to him as a hero. During feasts, their parents, the king and queen, merrily talked about Deon as if he had never been such a disappointment to the royal family. Even the elders in Cail’s noble faction cautioned him about his younger brother’s increasing fame.

Deon this.

Deon that.

Cail was getting tired of hearing their nonsense. Then, a month later, he heard that his brother made an outrageous bet with the king, making him wonder whether his useless younger brother really did change for the better.

So, he ambushed Deon to see this change for himself.

But judging by Deon’s reaction today, Cail smirked at his own thoughts, ‘A hero? who are they kidding? he’s still the same old wimp.’

“Wimp, follow me.” Cail turned around and walked toward the castle’s maze garden.

“B-but! B-brother…” Deon jogged after Cail, “W-where are we going?”

“Where else? To our training grounds, of course.” Cail raised the corner of his eyebrow and gave his brother a malicious grin, “Haven’t you been neglecting your training these days, brother? This kind older brother of yours will train you so you don’t get trapped in things like ant colonies.”

“Hnngh…”

When his dreaded answer came out, Deon whimpered. All the courage he had gained from the recent events flew out of the window in front of his brother.

To the youngest prince, Cail Hensworth was a subject of fear.

If the crown prince, Avery, was a hopeless bro-con; the second prince, Cail, was a bully.

Cail, who valued strength more than any other, found the cowardly and talentless Deon to be an annoyance. Hence, ever since they were children, Cail often beat up Deon in the name of ‘Training’

Still, like the doormat that he is, Deon never hated his brother.

It didn’t matter to him whether Cail just used him as a punching bag for entertainment or if he truly wanted Deon to be stronger.

Because through Cail’s training, Deon learned how to fight– And this saved him numerous times in the hunting competition.

Unlike their eldest brother who overly protected him, Deon found Cail who beats him up as a mentor of sorts.

Above all else, Cail was a respectable fighter.

He was a gifted spearman who was often compared with the kingdom’s founder, the legendary Heinken I.

To Deon, he was the epitome of strength and courage.

That was why, more than the queen, the crown prince, or even the king, Deon wanted to be acknowledged by the second prince.

“I heard you made a bet with father.” Cail spat with a hint of amusement, “And that you’ve been going around with that Dame to some interesting places.”

“Y-yes, brother.”

“Heh… why? You don’t like being in the same department as me?” Cail looked over his shoulder as he walked past the wide halls.

“N-No! I really just want to learn the s-sword, brother.” Deon hastily defended, waving his hands across his face.

Cail fell silent, apparently unconvinced.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the largest garden in the castle—the Hellebore** Maze.

The maze had tall walls made with winter rose bushes. From afar, the intricate maze looked like a bloody box with its blooming red-purple flowers, but inside was a complicated path leading to a wide square at the center. This square was where Cail and Deon often had their training.

The brothers entered the maze and took their usual route to the square.

Rustle… Rustle…

The second prince rummaged through the Hellebore bush and produced an old spear. Then, he threw it on the square ground in Deon’s direction.

“Pick up your weapon and let’s have a match.” Cail walked to the opposite side of the square.

Crack!

Cail’s neck loudly popped as he turned his head side to side. Then, he proceeded to loosen his muscles as he got ready to start the fight even though his opponent has yet to agree.

“A M-match? But why?” Deon’s pupils shook from fear at his brother’s words.

“Why?” Cail faced his brother, effortlessly flicking his spear, “You made a bet with father. So, make a bet with me as well.”

“B-bet?”

“Yes. let’s bet on your dame. If I win, you give her to me. If I lose…” Cail laughed as if the very idea of him losing to Deon was absurd, “Heck! As if that will ever happen.”

Cail was greatly disappointed when he came back from the border patrol mission tasked by his father. Together with his Order of the Soaring Griffin, Cail spent ten days watching the kingdom’s border for any signs of suspicious movement from the Empire. As such, although he planned to scout Dame Nora before she was appointed as Deon’s knight, he couldn’t do so for he was absent in the Knighting Ceremony.

Now, he wanted to snatch Nora from his brother by proposing a bet.

“Kid, why are all of your brothers such scumbags? Especially this one. He’s pissing me off.” Mikael clenched his fists inside the Medium, “Let’s beat him up.”

“Beat–?! We can’t beat up my brother, Sir Mikael! He’s too strong!” Deon was so terrified of his partner’s proposal that he vigorously shook his head.

“Him? Strong? Have you forgotten that you now have me?” Mikael asked when he saw just how scared the boy was of his own brother. That was when Mikael thought, ‘Did his brother constantly abuse him or something? He seems to have a trauma that he’s unaware of.’

As Deon stuttered to reply, Mikael turned his gaze to the second prince.

The second prince was muscular and hulky. He was even taller than Sir Finn who was almost two meters in height and he looked more like a battle-worn warrior than a prince. His angular face had little scars that made him look way older than he should have been– a seventeen-year-old boy.

Still, Prince Cail had the unmistakable charisma that could only be found in royalty.

Proud and strong– these were the qualities that Cail Hensworth exuded, and Mikael was fairly sure that a lot of people were drawn to him due to these traits.

His unwavering confidence probably made his subordinates feel relieved and safe even in dangerous situations– Like they could win a thousand battles if they just follow his command.

‘Compared to this guy, Deon is severely lacking.’ Mikael objectively evaluated, ‘No wonder the kid suffers from an inferiority complex… His brothers are way too good.’

‘But still…’  Mikael thought the boy’s fear was irrational since they had already fought and won against scarier monsters like the Super Major and the Ant Queen.

‘He has to get over his inferiority complex. He has to erase the image of an almighty brother whom he can’t defy. Otherwise, this kid can’t move forward.’

Mikael judged that the second prince’s provocation was a good chance to release Deon from one of the many shackles that prevented him from achieving greatness.

Today, they shall defeat Cail Hensworth.

“So what? Will you let him take Dame Nora from you?” Mikael taunted, “I’m sure she’ll be really disappointed if she knew you gave her up without even trying.”

“What are you waiting for, wimp? We don’t have all day!” Cail called out after seeing his brother frozen like a statue.

With Mikael and Cail pressuring Deon both internally and externally, the young prince suddenly felt faint, ‘Ugh! Why are you doing this to me?!’

–Chapter end–

**Hellebore is a perennial plant also known as Winter Rose. Why? Because they bloom even in winter!

A/N: 2 meters is tall, right? Forgive me if that’s not tall enough.. HAHAHA. This author is just 4′ 11” so, in my perspective, 2m is crazy tall :O